Safe Driving is the Road to Life

When I turned sixteen I remember everybody asking me if I had gotten my driver’s license yet. I wasn’t one of those kids who got their driver’s license the day I could. I was much more cautious of driving than the other kids as my family had a long history with car accidents. My grandmother had died in a car accident when she was young and left eight children and a loving husband. My aunt had been in a car accident that almost took someone’s life, and I’ve witnessed my fair share of fender benders that left me terrified to get on the road.

It took me almost a year to get into driver’s ed. I remember being terrified to drive, especially with so many people in the car. My parents had taken me driving before, but I had never been behind the wheel with people I didn’t know, but I found that with a good teacher and enough encouragement driving was actually not as scary as I thought. Learning the rules is what made me feel secure while driving, but once I was no longer the problem on the road, I realized that there were other problems on the road.

I am grateful that I was scared of driving at first because driving should be scary. It is important to recognize that every time we get in the car. There are some people who do not follow the rules of the road and endanger everybody else. For that reason, Driver’s ed is one of the most fundamental opportunities for new drivers. By learning what to do on the road, you reduce the risk of making a potentially fatal mistake.

Taking driver’s ed, listening to the rules, and following the rules are the steps we need to take to reduce the amount of casualties on the road. We need to take responsibility and not let ourselves slip into breaking them. I will be the first to admit that I occasionally catch myself speeding, but once I realize that what I am doing could endanger somebody’s life, I immediately slow down no matter the situation. If everybody were to wear their seatbelts, if everybody were to sober up before getting behind the wheel, the roads would be a much safer place and we could minimize vehicle-related death and injury.

Texting and driving is another HUGE issue that I see people break all of the time. Nothing will ever compare to the fear I felt when I was in the passenger seat and the person driving picked up their phone to text while on the FREEWAY. Immediately, I snatched the phone from their hands and insisted that whatever they needed to do on their phone I would do for them. There was no way I was going to die because of somebody else’s text.

We need to help others recognize that their actions are dangerous as well. If you are a person who frequently sits in the passenger seat, there are things that you could do as well in order to minimize risk.

Tips for those passenger princesses out there!

Don’t be afraid to snatch the phone; you can help them do whatever they need on their phone.

Be the GPS; you can give directions so that they don’t have to look at their phone.

Call someone out when they are speeding; some people may get annoyed at this, but if the speeding is more than 5 mph the speed limit, suggest they slow down for the safety of everyone in the car (especially do this if you are aware of something such as a road curve or speed bump).

Look up parking for the destination; there are apps that help drivers scout out the parking situation, especially in cities where parking can be much more complicated. As a driver, not having to think about parking reduces the stress of being behind the wheel.

Just be aware; there have been times where I was driving and tried to switch lanes and didn’t notice that someone was trying to switch into the same lane as me on the other side. My passenger pointed it out before we crashed. You can help by staying vigilant.

The road is a dangerous place where many lives are taken every single day. Everybody knows someone who has been affected by an irresponsible driver. Everybody knows someone who may be an irresponsible driver. If we follow the rules we learned in driver’s ed we can save the lives of ourselves and others.